Proper care and maintenance of rifles and shotguns require that the gun barrels be kept cleaned, oiled, and free of obstruction. Such care and maintenance minimize fouling and the corrosive effects of gases produced during firing, and consequently reduces the possibilities of misfiring, backfiring, and other accidents. A preferred method for cleaning a rifle or shotgun is by pushing a cleaning patch through the barrel with a cleaning rod. The cleaning patch is typically held by a jag that is fitted to the end of the cleaning rod. The rod, with cleaning patch, is then pushed through the barrel and reciprocated; this action is repeated as many times as necessary until the gun barrel is properly cleaned. The cleaning rod may be inserted at the breech or the muzzle end, depending upon the gun style. If the gun breaks at the breech, however, it is preferable to insert the rod at that end so as to protect the firing mechanism from the jag.
Without some kind of stop to check the lengthwise movement of the rod, the jag frequently exits the muzzle during cleaning, and the cleaning patch is often lost just before retraction of the cleaning rod through the barrel. The user may not always notice the loss of the patch in time to check retraction, resulting in the bare jag being pulled back through the barrel. A bare jag can cause many problems, including jamming and scoring, as it is dragged back through a gun barrel. Alternatively, if the cleaning patch falls off only partially or otherwise shifts its position on the jag, it can become jammed in the barrel.
There have been inventions designed to stop the cleaning rod from exiting the barrel or engaging the firing pin. These devices are useful in cleaning guns by controlling rod movement, but they present unique problems. These inventions generally involve a collar and set screw which must be assembled on the cleaning rod at the appropriate location along the rod such that the rod will travel through the barrel to the desired extent. To properly employ these devices, the user must first measure and find the right spot at which to clamp the collar, and then assemble the collar and screw on the rod. With the action of reciprocating the rod, and contacting the collar or set screw repeatedly with the gun barrel, the set screw may loosen and allow the rod to slide through the collar and the gun barrel, presenting the possibilities of damage to gun barrel or injury to the user or both. Furthermore, due to the nature of the collar assembly, the user must have several collar assemblies, one rod for each gun, or take the time to break down and reassemble the collar assembly every time it was used. Finally, because the collar repeatedly impacts the end of the barrel, it will most likely wear on the barrel end, even if it is made of resilient plastic. These encountered or potential problems prevent many users from using the collar and set screw assemblies.
With other existing methods, users sometimes have to extract bare jags or remove stuck patches. To provide a quick and easy stop to prevent the exiting of the jag from the muzzle during cleaning, the user often places the muzzle of the gun against a wall, the toe of a boot, or other handy surface. This method of controlling the cleaning rod is inefficient because it stops the jag precisely at the muzzle, and many cleaning rods are such that the jag must extend slightly past the muzzle in order for the cleaning patch to engage the entire barrel bore. This method of controlling the cleaning rod is also unsafe for the gun cleaner: if a wall or other surface is used, there is no positive hold on the barrel and either the control rod or gun barrel may slip resulting in the gun cleaner losing his footing; alternatively, if the toe of a boot is used, the jag may cause injury to the user's foot.